Oh, how time just fly by us, last.fm. We are very close to our second anniversary, so I brought you a gift. It's okay if you don't have anything for me, it's not that special.
I did the same thing last year: a celebratory journal. This time around I decided to surprise you once again by posting it before the exact date but not on the same date as last year. I like to keep you in your toes.
This time around last year I had
“47,036 plays since 26 Aug 2007” now it's
"76,168 plays since 26 Aug 2007". So I've scrobbled +29,062 songs and went from
"649 artists" to
"1,119 artists" in my library. Yikes! I've been listening to a lot of radio that usually pads up the artists counts.
Reading back to that journal, I can tell you that some feelings stay the same. Rolling charts and journals are still rocking my world, and
The Twilight Sad keeps hanging in there like a bad rash, when you think they are about to cave it, they release
something. *sigh* There's also the
Recommended Reading that's slated to make an official come back with a vengeance!
Some loving points have decreased and make me feel mad and annoyed:
- For some reason the "Similar Artists" list seems to be wrong about 8 out of 10 times these past few months. You can really tell when you know the artists involved.
- You seem to be getting a lot more popular with people and that has some pros and cons. One of the major cons is the serious amount of trolling and spamming from street team, regular people and even artists, remember that porn shoutbox spam attack?! Hilarious!
The street team people have also caught on a way of not getting their shouts deleted: attack in flock, so when the moderator visits the page s/he thinks they are regular fan recommendations. Like
The Gossip shouts on the
Sleater-Kinney page. I await the "flag this shout as spam"/"flag this shout as offensive" feature, pleeeease.
- Who can forgive the boneheaded move of removing the player from the album and artists pages. Makes it a bit hostile to listen to streaming albums. We also have a new fancy "visual radio" for whatever is worth, though the multiple tag radio station is not bad at all.
To compete with you on a certain extent, I have signed up for
Blip.fm. It's not an in-your-face competitor, but I listen a lot more to the "radio" over there. And those geniuses let you scrobble your played songs. Ahhh, don't you love it when things just sync with one another?
With the
Blipster application, it's easy to make a queue playlist to "blip" and filter your results by media type, it's actually better than using their site. I've also been abled to find some pretty good "DJs". If you are familiar with blip.fm, you'll know why those terms require quotation marks.
And then there's
setlist.fm, which is pretty cool for people like me who like to get a sense of what artists - with an upcoming gig in my city - are playing on tour. I often go through artists events here just to see if there's a "Review" link, in case someone decided to take a souvenir... and read some post-gig shouts about how it all went.
I also found a new leisure activity: detect pattern in my artists images. Not the usual "this band has attitude" group shots. I'm talking weird coincidences. So far I've discovered two themes: baths and people who were run over.
Around New Year's eve, these bands felt really dirty and decided to do some band bonding by taking a bath together. Two of them also had snacks while they were at it.
More recently two guys were tragically taken down.
I don't know why this happened but I opened a tip line to uncover the secret.
An anonymous tip suggested that Brent from Menomena ran over the two of them. The investigation is still open.
This is a troubling epidemic my friends. It's already extended to other user library. Like the following taken today from
trainstobrazil_'s library
It seems to be getting worse. Now they are all lying down!
These little things mean that you've still got some love. I don't think I'll be bailing out just yet but you'd better watch your recently-handed-to-corporate-entity steps.
Let's reminisce the good things, shall we?
Artist charts
One thing I can admit is that I have a bit of a methodology for my playlists. When an album comes out, I will listen to it several times in the intended order; once I pin down the overall mood and flow of it, I start to shuffle it and if I really like the album, there is an "Artist playlist" consisting of basically every new song plus some past favorites. You can tell that one-sided artist dominance abounds.
The week following our first anniversary was dominated by
The Walkmen with 129 plays. Last week, it was
To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie with 54 plays. Some weeks there's more diversity. That definitely did not happen the week of August 31st when
Xiu Xiu crushed the charts with a whooping 254 plays!
An interesting factoid was a tie for the number one spot, it happened on July 19th between
To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie and
The Kills, each got 91 plays. You could say they were
killing it. Ha!
Here's a recap on chart toppers:
The following artists topped the charts one week only:
Xiu Xiu
TV on the Radio
The Beatles
Johnny Foreigner
Lykke Li
Deftones
Doves
The Horrors
Grizzly Bear
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
Women
Menomena
Voxtrot
2 times a piece for this group:
Maybeshewill
Errors
Morrissey
The Phantom Band
To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie
3 weeks:
Mogwai
The Twilight Sad
Okkervil River
Fever Ray
5 weeks were topped by the following band
Explosions in the Sky
Aaaaand the past year was dominated by two bands with 7 weeks on top!
The Walkmen
The Kills
Judging from that 250+ week you can tell that thing tends to be go one way quite often. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I indulge on the songs I like from time to time, like listening to them back-to-back-to-back-to-back... to-back and repeating certain moments of the songs. So I decided to unearth the most dominating songs, chart style.
Most dominating songs:
01. Maybeshewill –
You Can't Shake Hands With a Clenched Fist
June 14 - 28 plays
This song ends very abruptly and you feel like you
must listen to it again... and again.
02. The Twilight Sad –
Reflection Of The Television
26 plays - May 24
I'm going to guess that this happened on the week of its release. Just a guess.
03. Johnny Foreigner –
Salt, Pepa and Spinderella
25 plays - October 12
What?! This song is so catchy. It's sickening.
04. The Twilight Sad –
Twenty four hours
25 plays - November 9
Killer cover! It makes the original feel so tame and... old.
05. Fever Ray –
If I Had A Heart
23 plays - March 22
"If I had a heart I would love you... ahhhhh" It just gets in that head of yours.
06. The Walkmen –
Postcards from Tiny Islands
21 plays - August 24
This song... it just owns! That guitar, those crashing cymbals... it's excellent!
07. The Daysleepers –
Distant Creatures
21 plays - December 7
Great atmospherics. Sadly the rest of the album doesn't live up to this song.
08. The Twilight Sad –
In The Blackout
21 plays - July 19
This is a b-side. I repeat a
b-side. The lo-fi metal-ish intro is... whooooaaaaa. Makes my head spin.
09 Interpol –
Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down
20 plays - September 14
My friend Vikki made me listen to this!
10. The Walkmen –
On The Water
19 plays - August 31
Look, if the mean triangle doesn't get to you, maybe the piercing whistling will.
11. Ramona Falls –
I Say Fever
19 plays - August 2
I'm going to share a little tragic story here. This album came out Tuesday of last week. A couple of weeks ago I decided that I'd do something special by going to the actual record store instead of ordering online. So, on Tuesday I headed out to the record store during my lunch break and it turned out they didn't have it! Apparently no one goes to the record store to buy albums the very same day they are released anymore. So I had to order it online and lost some precious scrobbling time. Please learn from my experience.
Expect a lot more play counts in the upcoming weeks... and months! :)
12. Lykke Li –
Let It Fall
18 plays - November 23
Cool pop song.
13. TV on the Radio –
Love Dog
17 plays - September 28
Poor little love dog.
14. The Walkmen –
On The Water
17 plays - November 16
Notice that the best song of 2008 made two appearances here!
15. The Kills –
Sour Cherry
17 plays - February 1
I'm surprised that
Sour Cherry ended up here instead of
Getting Down. Undeniably catchy and addictive songs.
Journals: The talk of the town
I wrote 16 more journals after last year anniversary thing. There's been more balanced.
One journal a piece
This group were recognized for opening for Xiu Xiu!
Common Eider, King Eider
Prurient
Evangelista
Xiu Xiu! (and a whole bunch other artists) at The Bowery Ballroom - 28 Aug 2008
To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie
To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie - The Patron (2007) - 22 Aug 2009
These artists have put on some solid play counts so far this year.
Grizzly Bear
Fever Ray
The Horrors
2009 Mid-year Countdown - 12 Jul 2009
This group had at least one awesome song that deserved recognition in 2008.
The Daysleepers
Elbow
Gang Gang Dance
Jason Collett
Marnie Stern
This Will Destroy You
We Were Promised Jetpacks
White Hinterland
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
These artists put on their solid work in 2007 but were truly appreciated last year. Doesn't make them less deserving of a journal.
A Place to Bury Strangers
Battles
Caribou
Efterklang
Film School
Panda Bear
The Field
Yeasayer
Revised 2007 albums - 25 Dec 2008
The following group got the "honor" of getting a mention on my awards last year.
David Cook
Glasvegas
Guns N' Roses
Metallica
Michael Johns
New Kids on the Block
Oasis
Portishead
The Ting Tings
The Verve
Travis
Vampire Weekend
Weezer
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
I did this crazy journal where I went through my library trying to find out which artists would best represent each state.
Andrew Bird
Annuals
Band of Horses
Beirut
Better Than Ezra
Black Dice
Built to Spill
Caspian
Daniel Johnston
DeVotchKa
Discover America
Elliott Smith
Forget Cassettes
I Hear Sirens
Iron & Wine
Jimmy Eat World
Joan as Police Woman
Johnny Cash
LCD Soundsystems
Margot & the Nuclear So and So's
Mates of the State
Menomena
Moby
My Morning Jacket
of Montreal
Remy Zero
Slipknot
Sparklehorse
St. Vincent
Sufjan Stevens
The Hold Steady
The Killers
The National
The Spinto Band
The Velvet Underground
Voxtrot
White Rabbits
It's my United States of... whatever! - 6 Sep 2008
Deuces journals
A Sunny Day in Glasgow
Revised 2007 albums - 25 Dec 2008
It's my United States of... whatever! - 6 Sep 2008
Animal Collective
Bon Iver
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
It's my United States of... whatever! - 6 Sep 2008
The following group's work entitled them to a mention for their songs and an award of sorts:
Crystal Stilts
Death Cab for Cutie
Fleet Foxes
Friendly Fires
The Big Sleep
The Last Shadow Puppets
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
The Dodos
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
The Phantom Band
2009 Mid-year Countdown - 12 Jul 2009
The Phantom Band - Checkmate Savage - 19 May 2009
TV on the Radio
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
Give me two! No wait, give me
three journals!
2008 was a good year for the following artists, they were recognized in my most played, song list and award journals.
Deerhunter
Johnny Foreigner
Lykke Li
M83
No Age
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
Fuck Buttons
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
Mogwai + Fuck Buttons @ Terminal 5 - 19 Sep 2008
Maybeshewill
2009 Mid-year Countdown - 12 Jul 2009
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
Slaraffenland
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Revised 2007 albums - 25 Dec 2008
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
Telepathe
2009 Mid-year Countdown - 12 Jul 2009
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
Four journals. I repeat f-o-u-o-r. Fouor?
Errors
Errors - It's Not Something But It Is Like Whatever - 9 Mar 2009
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
Frightened Rabbit
Thrice
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
Revised 2007 albums - 25 Dec 2008
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
Can you people believe that I saw this following band in concert three night in a row... with Mogwai?! It was amazing, of course! I have two more concerts in the can that will surely be even better because it's a headlining affair... *swoon*
The Twilight Sad
The Twilight Sad @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Apr 27 - Apr 29) - 1 May 2009
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
The Twilight Sad Killed My Parents and Hit The Road - 25 Nov 2008
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
Five journals. Hang in there, little Timmy. We are almost there.
Speaking of which...
Mogwai
Mogwai @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Apr 27 - Apr 29) - 3 May 2009
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
Mogwai + Fuck Buttons @ Terminal 5 - 19 Sep 2008
The Walkmen
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
The Walkmen - You & Me - 12 Nov 2008
It's my United States of... whatever! - 6 Sep 2008
Xiu Xiu
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
It's my United States of... whatever! - 6 Sep 2008
Xiu Xiu! (and a whole bunch other artists) at The Bowery Ballroom - 28 Aug 2008
Aaaaand this year crowning winner is *drumroll* Okkervil River!!!! With
six journals. Woohooo.
Okkervil River
Okkervil River @ The Bell House - 9 Jan 2009
2008 in concerts, songs and EPs - 2 Jan 2009
Most played albums of 2008 - 1 Jan 2009
Revised 2007 albums - 25 Dec 2008
DGA Awards 2008 - 22 Nov 2008
It's my United States of... whatever! - 6 Sep 2008
EXCELLENT winner! Thought The Walkmen had this one in the can. Oh well, both released great albums last year. I'll leave it up to you to predict who will be the most talked about for next year. :P
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> 1st anniversary journal
Annuals
